Monday, January 31, 2011

You'll notice recent was in quotation marks - as in it depends what you consider to be recent. I'm guessing the local church's Fall Bazaar may not count...

One of my goals this year is to do more DIY-AF, aka Do It Yourself And Finish. The two chinese style little tables were purchased for $2. My sense is there used to be three that stacked on each other but I've glued the two together to make a small table. Next step: paint them a glossy white.This chair was given to me for free as they closed-out the sale. It's going to be recovered in left-over Schumacher's Fern Tree.

My 2011 goal - finish these and post about it! (oh, and the dresser drawers I bought a while back too)

Thursday, January 27, 2011

SNOW DAY - I love snow but have to say it loses some of its charm when you have no power or heat and are told it may be another 24 - 36 hrs. Well at least the 3G on my ipad is finally up. We only have one fireplace so just the living room is somewhat warm. Since the rest of the house is 50, looks like it's going to be four somewhat happy campers sleeping by the fire tonight...but hopefully not tomorrow.

Here's a post from last winter - If I was building a dream house, a fireplace in the kitchen would be near the top of my wish list. This kitchen of Canadian designer Brian Gluckstein is my all time favorite. I love the elevated placement of the fireplace surrounded by the beautiful dark wood cabinets and woodwork. Off the the left, not shown, is a gorgeous banquet seating area (more on that in a later post) Source: Canadian House and Home, Feb 2003, photography by Michael Alberstat

Sunday, January 23, 2011

An introduction to the blog SummerHouse Style led me to the work of interior designer Lisa Palmer and this room. Love the symmetry and elegant, confortable vibe. Isn't the smokey blue chosen for the back of the shelves the best! To see more this room go here and then be sure to check out the store as well (SummerHouse in Ridgeland, MS) I've got to run to work. Hope you have a great Monday.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Mystery solved! Angela of Giannetti Home: Design Online commented to let me know the $4.59 yard fabric I previously posted about here is Donghia's Stella. From the website it seems that mine is Luminary Yellow #0375-03 and is a linen/cotton jacquard described as "woven like a fine Italian linen scarf, Stella diffuses and filters light with an impression of soothing earthy tones." I love closure and am so appreciative that Angela saw the post and shared this info with me.If you weren't already aware of Giannetti Home: Design Online service, you can read more about their services here.

Next, thank you so much to Design Indulgence and Preppy Little Dress for giving me a Stylish Blogger Award. It requires you to share 7 things about yourself and award recently discovered bloggers. I'm going to deviate by including some bloggers I've known for a while - hope that will be ok.

Coming up with 7 things was hard so I'm going to share 7 very recent things.

1. Last week I fell off a curb and skinned my knee through my pants. Really, at age 46, falling so hard on the pavement you skin your knee and bleed all over?

2. For some reason, I've been buying necklaces w/lions on them. I'm a Leo but not sure what that's about...

Thursday, January 20, 2011

More changes in the world of magazines. Women's Wear Daily is reporting that Stephen Drucker is resigning from his position as Editor in Chief of Town & Country. WWD reports he will be replaced by former Men's Vogue Editor in Chief Jay Fielden. For the full story go here.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

The power of one piece of art to elevate the design of an entire room is evident in the den of designer Courtney Giles. Looking beyond that though you can also see all the wonderful choices she made with texture, pattern and color in this room. Love the wide ribs on the sofa fabric & the shape of the orange chair. Her home first appeared in Atlanta Homes, Sep 2007. To see more go here. (Photography by Erica George Dines)After posting this first pic, I found this version of her den with dark brown walls. Fun to see the same room with 2 different paint colors!If you don't already know, Julie LoRusso, a fab jewelry designer, is having a jewelry giveaway to celebrate the one year anniversary of her blog Monkey Grass Hill. Be sure to head over and enter. While you're there also check out the slipcovers she's making for her sunroom chairs.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Over Christmas break I had a chance to visit one of my favorite stores, Wanda Crossley's Matthews House & Garden, in Upperville, VA. Every time I go it's a visual treat. This time when you walk in, the former church vestibule is an inviting sitting area with a stunning display of branches on the wall. Aren't those gray pillows fab too?This brass and glass shelf (I'm sure there's a name for this) would be gorgeous on a kitchen island.

A clover leaf table - my new favorite piece in the store.My daughter was fascinated by these. They're graphite sculptures that serve as artful pencils - the one on the left is a pointed hand.

One more time, just because...A chicken topiary to greet you on your way in and out. If you plan a trip to Matthews in Upperville keep in mind that Haute Fabrics in Marshall is only a few miles a way (that's the amazing fabric store where I got Kelly Wearstler's Fern Tree for only $28 a yard.) Or vice versa - if you're headed to Haute be sure to visit Matthews.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Not only did it take me a long time to finish this table, it took me just as long to post about it. You may remember back in early October I bought this great 3 tiered table for $10 at a yard sale. Instead of just painting it Farrow & Ball's Shaded White, I decided to paper it with marbled paper by Renato Crepaldi from Paper Mojo. As you can see, I didn't use a very exacting method to cut the paper....this pic reminds me of the great weather we had this fall.Here's the finished table. Since I was just slightly shy of having enough to cover the entire top, I trimmed it with gray ribbon. Each layer of paper was "glued" down by using Artists Acrylic Medium - which is somewhat thinner than Modge Podge and used by collage artists. I have no words of wisdom as that whole process did not go well. The paper was so large that it would catch, wrinkle and come close to tearing. After it was all saturated, I had to cover it with a plastic bag and stack it with books in order to squish the paper flat! Because I was concerned about the state of the paper, I bought a piece of acrylic from American Frame to cover and protect the top. In retrospect, I wish I hadn't glued the paper to the top and just placed it under the acrylic. I skipped polyurethaning the other 2 shelves as the acrylic medium has properties that protect the paper from average use.Here's a blurry pic showing the wrinkling. It's not real obvious to anyone looking but, of course, I know it's there.A closer shot showing the ribbon trim.Here it is as my bedside table (sorry no natural light when I took this photo.)

Monday, January 10, 2011

Today I'm over at Party Resourcesdoing a guest post on my 9 favorite things for a party in the New Year. Thanks to Kate for asking me to dream up a fun party idea. Hope you'll check it out - there's Pastis at the end!

Friday, January 7, 2011

DC based designer, Barbara Franceski's home is featured this month in Portugal's Casa Claudia. I'm always interested in seeing designer's own homes and Barbara's is a wonderful mix of classic pieces from a number of periods, artfully mixed with unique and interesting details. Case in point, the fabulous lucite stool on casters. (Photo credit for all images: Angie Seckinger)Be sure to click on the above pic so you can see a larger image of the wall treatment. Nailheads similar to those on the living room ottoman appear in the dining room, giving definition to the walls.Barbara's office - the desk is scripted with Italian. Bella!A gorgeous canopied bed and a mix of beautiful fabric patterns - love this!Finally, a beautiful and hip bathroom. To see more of Barbara's work, check out my DC Designer Series feature on her here.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Do you still miss Southern Accents? I do, and when I saw the work of Charlottesville based designer Jan Roden I couldn't help but think of the aethestic respresented so beautifully in that magazine. Her interiors are both refined and comfortable; a balance that is hard to achieve but stands apart when it's done masterfully. In addition to designing, she co-runs And George with her daughter Christy Ford, a former NY photographer, whose own home has been featured in a number of magazines.All images via Jan Roden's site, for more go here.